Arts-Based Reflection on the End of Life: Nursing Student Narrative Analysis.

Nurses play an essential role in providing compassionate evidence-based care at the end of life, yet many undergraduate students have limited opportunities to participate in end-of-life care experiences. Arts-based pedagogy has been explored as a strategy in nursing education that focuses on the affective domain of learning. The purpose of this qualitative narrative analysis was to explore the impact of an arts-based reflection assignment on student affective learning using artistic images depicting end-of-life scenarios. Student written narratives (n = 21) were analyzed using content analysis, and four themes emerged that described the components of affective learning in several areas.

High-Fidelity Simulation: An Application to Psychopharmacological Training for the Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Student.

As the demand for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNPs) continues to grow, innovative teaching strategies that can enhance competency learning with skill transfer into the clinical setting is essential. Educational programs must adequately prepare the student for the complexity of the clinical environment. Simulation is an educational approach that replicates aspects of the real world in a safe environment so that learners can engage in an interactive manner. High-fidelity simulation (HFS) has been identified as an effective teaching strategy and mechanism to transfer knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to the clinical setting. HFS uses a human patient simulator to immerse the learner in a contextual learning environment by engaging in a realistic clinical scenario to develop cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills through deliberate practice. This article describes the theoretical foundation, development process, case scenarios, and implementation of HFS, an innovative teaching pedagogy, in a Psychopharmacology didactic course for PMHNP.

Transforming Nursing Education and the Formation of Students: Using the Humanbecoming Paradigm.

Transforming nursing education is a current focus across the country, the result of recent national reports that have made significant contributions for evaluating and changing curricula and ways students are taught. However, the need to ground these strategies for change within our discipline's ontological foundation through nursing theory must be addressed. The purpose of this article is to use Parse's Humanbecoming Paradigm to provide educators with exemplars of discipline-specific theory-based changes across educational levels. The exemplars are situated within the important tensions that educators face today in undergraduate, advanced practice, and doctoral programs. Conclusions are drawn regarding continuing efforts to ensure that nurse educators incorporate discipline-relevant theories when transforming nursing education.

Adjunct faculty development: reported needs and innovative solutions.

One strategy for solving the nursing shortage is to increase the enrollment in undergraduate programs in schools of nursing. However, the shortage of full time faculty may prohibit larger enrollments. Employing adjunct faculty is one way to meet the teaching demands of increasing enrollment. Hiring and retaining qualified adjunct faculty is a challenge faced by many schools of nursing. To maintain quality, schools must meet the development needs of this unique group of faculty. Job satisfaction of adjunct faculty influences retention. Limited published research addresses the development needs of adjunct nursing faculty. This article describes the findings from a survey designed to identify the overall needs of our adjunct faculty. Based on the survey's findings, several new initiatives were implemented with the ultimate aim of retaining a cadre of qualified teachers.

Curriculum reform in baccalaureate nursing education: review of the literature.

The debate surrounding the need for reform in nursing education has been heard for well over a decade. Recently, deficiencies in the quality of patient care, as well as patient safety issues, have led to calls for change in health professions education by nursing organizations and the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The rationale and scope of any proposed curricular revision or changes in teaching practices must be firmly grounded in a comprehensive review of the literature and based on current research findings. This article synthesizes the recent literature related to curriculum reform and innovation in nursing education. Four themes were identified in the literature: incorporating safety and quality in nursing education, re-designing conceptual frameworks, strategies to address content laden curricula, and teaching using alternative pedagogies. Synthesis of the recent literature in the field will assist faculty who are beginning the curriculum evaluation and revision process in their own schools.

Podcasting: implementation and evaluation in an undergraduate nursing program.

Podcasting, a recently introduced technology, is being used increasingly in higher education. The authors provide an overview of the potential uses and techniques for implementing podcasting in nursing education. Their experiences with implementing podcasting in their nursing courses and the results of a survey on student feedback related to podcasting are presented.

Prolonged ventilator dependence: perspective of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patient.

The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to examine the meaning of prolonged mechanical ventilation from the perspective of the patient with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Interviews were conducted with four individuals with a diagnosis of COPD who had experienced long-term ventilator dependence. Participants were asked to reflect on their experiences while they were ventilator dependent, and their narratives were utilized as text for hermeneutical analysis. The study's findings describe three distinct phases experienced by the participants, beginning with intubation and lasting until well after discharge from the hospital. The support of nurses was an important aspect of maintaining hope for the participants. The study revealed that prolonged mechanical ventilation had a profound impact on COPD patients and their sense of self. Postdischarge psychological support and follow-up with survivors of this experience is warranted.